


Diary of the Singing Summoner

by EriiErii



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Song Parody, Songfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2020-09-01 22:24:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20265481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EriiErii/pseuds/EriiErii
Summary: As the Order of Heroes find out, Kiran has quite the knack for writing songs on his free time when his mood strikes. However, as the Askr siblings and Anna soon learn, Kiran has quite the way with words when venting his frustrations in song.





	1. The Edge of Orbs Gone

**Author's Note:**

> To the tune of The Edge of Dawn (Main theme for Three Heroes).
> 
> Thanks for reading! For post updates, questions, art and general random silliness in between, check me out at eriisaam.tumblr.com for more!

"Kiraaan! Are you here? Where are you off to now?"

  
Sharena peeked into Kiran's room after already checking several rooms leading up to it. She left no blanket unturned and no room unpeeked... Even if it did freak out Fjorm enough to squeak that one time, but she was sure she'll forgive her.

"Wow... There's so many books all over the place. And what's with all these papers...?"

Try as she might, she still couldn't quite find Kiran, but did see evidence of what he was up to at the time here. There were papers in varying shapes, most of which listed numbers and records of things she couldn't quite understand. Credit? Banking? Did Kiran have his own treasure hoard, perhaps? Sharena felt happy for him, in that case, wisely thinking it best not to tell Anna of such.

  
But then besides the papers, what caught Sharena's attention was a book Kiran left open with that weird quill-like stick he had that completely lacked an inkwell, yet still held plenty of evidence Kiran wrote quite a bit with it.

* * *

  
Reach for my orbs  
They go away  
All cuz some bastard  
keeps staying away

I'll save some more  
thinking I'm slick  
right up until that hero decides to be a dick

* * *

  
Sharena blinked. She suspected something odd about the verses and took a moment to re-read it before she caught on. It wasn't a poem, but song lyrics. She perked up more at the thought that all this time, Kiran could write songs and never told them, the meaning of the song going right over her head at first.

* * *

  
Orb haul's past,  
they burn out fast  
cuz they all poof away.

Put on blast,  
cuz he's an ass  
who won't drop anyways.

Pity rates rise  
my wallet cries  
While I go on a spending spree  
And for a moment I'm alright  
until it screws with me.

Yet still I play  
day by day  
just dropping orbs in bank.

And still I try  
by the by  
While I'm way in too deep.

* * *

  
It did, eventually, dawn on Sharena as she continued reading and singing the lyrics mentally to herself that something of this was very familiar. Come to think of it, she did recall seeing Kiran furiously kept firing tons and tons of orbs he stockpiled for months last week only to take a book and write into it with just as much heated tension right after. Was this the result?

* * *

  
I snipe for you  
like a dumbass  
Trying to get you without spending too much cash.

I need a grey  
Full rings of blue  
Cuz you went out of your way to tell me "fuck you".

* * *

  
"O-oh... Right, that time didn't go quite so well..." But she did appreciate how Kiran somehow turned a moment of tragedy to something she found creative and charming. So much so, she happily took the book and ran off to find Leanne, curious of how it'll sound if she were to sing it out loud. She was thrilled to share Kiran's talents with the rest of the order, and trusted Leanne was far better doing Kiran's song justice than she could.


	2. That's Free-to-Play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Perhaps Sharena might have overestimated Kiran's skill in songwriting after all, but inspired at seeing some potential, Anna isn't quite so quick to give up an opportunity when she sees one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To the tune of That's Amore (well, part of it) by Dean Martin.
> 
> Thanks for reading! For post updates, questions, art and general random silliness in between, check me out at eriisaam.tumblr.com for more!

Well. Anna wasn't sure whether to be amused at Kiran's skill, or stunned at his ...unique... way with words.

  
Sharena was right. Leanne certainly did the song Kiran intended quite a bit of justice, and after a bit of coaching of how to read the words, and a prompt of how the song's melody went, it took very little time for her to learn how to sing the song beautifully, just as Sharena heard it in her head.

Unfortunately, between the way Alfonse slowly buried his face in his hands, and the way Reyson's feathers were bristling and his cheeks were flushed red, Sharena was so painfully caught up in the excitement of showing off Kiran's work that she didn't quite think of the actual lyrics written down. Out of anyone, Naesala seemed the most highly amused of the turn of events, grinning from ear to ear, just not for the reasons Sharena thought.

  
Still, Anna certainly saw potential, if buried under a lot of vented frustrations and crass words. Maybe there might even be money to be had of it, if she could coax Kiran into writing something with more charm and tact.

  
"Is this really worth pushing him? Kiran already does more than enough for us as it is..." Besides, Alfonse was quick to recognize that Kiran clearly did this more as an outlet than for trade. Wouldn't it spoil the original point?

"Nonsense! Sure, his last song might be rather um... creative... but there's talent somewhere under there! We just need to dig it out like a diamond in the rough! It'll help him feel appreciated, I'm sure!"

"And it's not simply as a way to make money off of him?" He smiled in already expecting the real answer, but Anna played coy.

"Making Kiran feel appreciated and making a pretty gold coin or so on the side don't have to be mutually exclusive, you know~"

He relented. Compared to a lot of her other schemes, perhaps this wasn't the worst Anna could be fixated on, and in part, Alfonse was curious to see where this goes.

  
Unfortunately, as Anna spied on Kiran to trace his habits of when he felt like writing or not, it seemed he so far spent more money than he really made for Anna, and his latest exploits led to Kiran currently nestled up beside Ryoma, sulking heavily and curling up beside him in frustrated sadness that Ryoma was sympathetic enough to wrap an arm around him and comfort him as he laid against him. It made Anna equal amounts of flustered of Kiran looking upset and low-key jealous he somehow managed to coax Ryoma to completely neglect the fact he was dressed like he was either coming or going from an onsen.

But now wasn't time to be distracted with Ryoma's very prominently open chest or abs. The only thing more attractive to her right then than dripping wet heroes dressed in next to nothing was the glaring fact Kiran wrote something recently, and he was distracted enough to leave his freshly inked book unattended.

  
Jackpot.

* * *

  
When you aim for a guy  
Cuz revenge-pull that's why  
Here's a ditty

* * *

  
Oh here it comes. Anna was eager to see where this would go, even if she knew immediately who Kiran wrote about. Besides, Kiran's latest summoning session went pretty well, so surely, he had better things to be harmonious about this time, right?

* * *

  
When you throw an orb pack  
and get two Fjorms back  
fuck my pity.

* * *

  
Oh...

* * *

  
When you try not to cry  
While Azura says hi  
fuck my pity.

* * *

  
Oh dear...

* * *

  
"No blue orbs here, huh?"  
And Byleth is like "bruh..."  
Fuck my pity

* * *

  
But, surely, it would get better soon, right? At least, Anna hoped so with already getting flustered of how much she would have to probably change before this song could be presentable in the first place to make gold from.

* * *

  
When your luck finally works  
and you're blessed with this jerk  
what's his IVs?

Then you check, and it hurts  
cuz his bane is pure dirt  
why Ryom hate me?

* * *

  
Anna slammed the book shut in slight frustration at her findings. Looks like she had quite a bit of work cut out for her this time...


	3. Look at my Pitybreak Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Anna realizes she's biting more than she can chew to try to censor Kiran's raw vent-lyrics, would Kiran be any less crude when writing about things besides summoning sessions? Alfonse investigates whether or not Kiran has a change of heart between summoning new heroes and training ones currently in their ranks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To the tune of Photograph by Nickelback.
> 
> Thanks for reading! For post updates, questions, art and general random silliness in between, check me out at eriisaam.tumblr.com for more!

"Commander Anna, fancy seeing you still here." Well, not really. Alfonse knew exactly where to find her.

"Hi..."

"So, how did Kiran's latest song go?" Then again, between the way he smiled, and the way Anna deflated around all her scribbled bits of parchment and crumbled up piles otherwise, her eyes narrowed to a glare, as if quietly challenging Alfonse of whether or not he even needed to ask.

He wisely thought over something else to say rather than "I told you so."

"_That_ bad?"

"_Awful!_ " Before she could help herself, Anna let out all her frustrations in one half-groan, half-yelp. As if the evidence wasn't clear enough from her mess of papers everywhere. "I mean, it would be great if Kiran didn't just keep cursing every other line, and no matter the rhymes I come up with, it doesn't sound as catchy! Uuuugh!"

Then again, Alfonse had a feeling this was less Anna being so ill-versed in writing, and more that she was spreading herself so thin in her endeavors that she was creatively bankrupt.

  
"That is the unfortunate side-effect to trying to catch him doing a hobby to vent, Commander. Perhaps you'd have better luck when you catch him writing while in a different mood?"

"Uuugh, I would, but I've spent hours working on my copy of his last work. Kiran always comes and goes in his own rhyme and rhythm to begin with, but lately he seems to pop up when I'm busy doing work. If it weren't for that, I'd be able to watch him much more carefully to see what he's up to."

As much as Alfonse did find all this worrying of how much it might push too hard and invade something that felt so intimate for Kiran to do in his own time, he did admit that he held some level of interest seeing some of the things Kiran was up to while his sister and friend both beat him to it already as it is. More, he'd rather investigate where Kiran was than stress either of them letting Anna do so instead when she was already wound up.

"Very well, I'll go look for him instead and report back."

"Will you? That'll be great if you could..." As Alfonse suspected, Anna wasn't shy to give away he lifted quite a lot of weight off her shoulders. "Besides, it's nearly lunch, and you know how Kiran gets."

"Right..." He was all too accustomed to Kiran often going without, either because of his mood, or because he forgot entirely. While Alfonse wanted to make sure he ate enough anyways to keep his strength and focus up, in this case, it gave him a good excuse to open Kiran up about his work.

  
As it turned out, he was perhaps underestimating Kiran's ability to share. By the time he found him, he caught Kiran, who seemed unusually teary-eyed right then, being gently patted on the head by Quan while Ethlyn giggled. He was too far away to catch the gist of their conversation, but from what Alfonse could tell, Kiran seemed weepy not unlike a parent watching their child graduate class, which was especially funny when Ethlyn and Quan both seemed encouraging and fussy to Kiran likewise. He gave enough space to Kiran before joining him proper to eat lunch together, and what started with gentle prodding to get him to eat ended with him, Fjorm and Eir joining them while he brought out a few books, including the book Alfonse was starting to dub Kiran's book of songs.

At least it put Alfonse's mind at ease Kiran didn't seem to take offense for all the times Sharena and Anna pried into it before him. Not that he was sure if Kiran ever caught on or thought Leanne's earlier song or Anna's workload were sheer coincidences. Even better, Kiran allowed him to take the book to read while he juggled reports left unread and letters left half-written.

* * *

Lookit this piece of shit.

* * *

  
"Well, we're off to a good start, aren't we..." But while he was impressed how little time Kiran took to curse this time, he simply shook his head and re-read the song's first few verses.

* * *

  
Lookit this piece of shit.  
I dunno what the fuck to do with it.  
Got stuck with an attack bane Quan  
when I was going for Summer Laegjarn.

And I don't know who in the hell are you,  
while I figure out th'fuck to do.  
And then you talk about horse riding and school.  
I guess that's certainly a thing you do.

And then I learn about your wife,  
I think I heard she was the love of your life.  
I think I recall way back when  
she beat abyssal Eliwood back then.

Maybe I should just wait  
to give your background a fairer shake.  
And then I''ll hold back my own judgement then,  
while you go out and clear up Stratum 10.  
Oh, um, oh, oh God I uh...

* * *

  
Alfonse snorted. Not only did he recall Ethlyn standing tall and proud one time in slowly picking away a whole fleet of soldiers while backed by another healer, slowly but surely burning away their energy as she and her horse trapped them in a choke-point, he was starting to realize why Kiran seemed sad for a while whenever Quan and Ethlyn were near for reasons he wouldn't say.

* * *

  
Every time I send you out to go to battle  
you'd try your best to clean out maps until you can't no more.  
And I'll just say it,  
I'll just say it,  
You tried  
You tried

And every time you were to fall in battle,  
you'd say your sorry to your wife that you can't fight no more.  
And I'll admit it,  
I'll admit it,  
I cried  
I cried

Every time you're riding off to go to battle,  
you do your best yet keep wishing you could've done much more.  
And I'm just asking  
try on asking  
just why  
just why

* * *

  
At least Alfonse took pride in how fast Kiran had a change of heart.

* * *

  
So I've been looking at your wiki page,  
and I've been filling up with so much rage.  
I gave you so much shit while still in doubt  
of why you came or what you're all about.

And then I realize I wasn't being fair  
that my first instinct to see you was to swear.  
Even if I had few orbs to spare,  
but you and Ethlyn can be a pair.

And maybe I was acting uptight  
but now I'm trying to make all of this right.  
So while your futures may start being bright  
I'll vent while figuring out what to write.  
Yep, right, yeah, probably, I dunno, I...

* * *

  
From how Alfonse glanced ahead and focused back in his place on the verses, he could see so many scribbled attempts throughout on seeing his point of how much time Kiran took to think up the rest.

* * *

  
Every time I send you out to go to battle,  
you did your best to clear out maps until you can't no more.  
And I'll still say it,  
I'll still say it,  
You tried  
You tried

And every time you burn out and fall down in battle,  
you'd say your sorry to your wife that you can't fight no more.  
And I'll still say it,  
I'll admit it,  
I cried  
I cried

C support down  
The look on your faces  
B support down  
You're both going places  
A support down  
Your pain erases  
S support down  
Past love retraces

Sorry I gave you shit.  
And I'll admit that I was being a tit.

Every time you ride off straight right into battle,  
Ethyln and you both try your best until you can't no more.  
And I'll still say it,  
I'll still say it,  
You tried  
You tried

And every time you both would fall down in a battle,  
You both say sorry to each other 'til you can't no more.  
And I'll admit it,  
I'll admit it,  
I cried  
I cried

Lookit this bastard man  
Trying his best to be the best he can.  
I guess I somehow turned into a fan...

* * *

  
Alfonse sighed. He was smiling faster than he could help it, not that anyone was watching him to really need to hide it. He did find Kiran thoughtful in his own ways, much as he hesitated to show Quan or Ethlyn Kiran's thoughts while it was raw and blunt as it was. Still, he gently closed the book while heading to Kiran's room, figuring he could return the book before calling it a night.


	4. Puppet's Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Kiran continues to write his lyrics in varying moods, at last, Anna found a song in Kiran where he holds back from cursing even once. However, something about this song leaves Alfonse highly suspicious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To the tune of Spider Dance (Theme of Muffet) from Undertale
> 
> Thanks for reading! For post updates, questions, art and general random silliness in between, check me out at eriisaam.tumblr.com for more!

To Alfonse's and Sharena's relief, Anna's work proofreading and censoring Kiran didn't go in vain. Eventually, she was able to get it published and shared around whoever was interested to peek, and brightened in her mood for all the days she toiled away at her copies when the general consensus seemed positive, even if it varied on how upfront their reactions were.

She was also still coming to terms with this being a good demo of sorts for exposure sake for future collaborations, if only because Sharena and Kiran got a bit too eager to show off Anna's work to the army well before the subject on price could come up. To the credit of their fellow heroes, at least they were thoughtful about tips of both the monetary and the verbal sort. Besides Sharena and especially Kiran being too cute to push the two about it too much, Alfonse prodded her with suggestions that any of her work thereafter should have Kiran more involved.

Fair enough.

"Sooo... How's our favorite songwriter in the making doing, Alfonse?" With a wink and a spring in her step she hadn't had in a while, Anna playfully patted Alfonse's shoulder. However, while he didn't mind it, he barely hid how he read between the lines that what Anna _wanted_ to call Kiran was her little cash cow in the making, and also was flustered of how often people seem to asking him specifically about where to find Kiran lately.

"Ah.... Hm. I think I saw him and Genny heading off together." Which, sure, he _did_ know where Kiran went a lot of the time, but that was beside the point. Surely he couldn't be the _only_ one to notice, right? "If I recall correctly, I believe Genny is also a writer herself and the two were having some kind of writing party together."

"Hah! I'd expect nothing less from our budding tactician!" Although Alfonse had even more suspicion she was much more charmed of Kiran improving more for the potential to increase his sales and output, but some encouragement was better than none, he guessed, and the nuances of Anna's reasoning went right over Kiran's head a lot of the time anyways.

Fortunately, it didn't seem to take long to find Kiran had seemed to finish his writing jam with Genny, and was already bright, giddy and energetic in scribbling away in his book. By chance, he seemed to finish just in time to see Alfonse and Anna approaching, and by the time they were in arm's reach of him, Kiran seemed even more eager to share his latest work in keeping his book intentionally and obviously within grabbing reach of them.

"Oh! Commander Anna! Prince Alfonse!" Matching his body language, he chirped his words and had a spring in his step rivalling Anna's spirit. It was almost infectious, and Anna easily was caught up in Kiran's spirit, much as Alfonse had a more restrained, but warm smile to him.

"Aha~! Sounds like you cooked up quite the masterpiece there, huh?" Which, it remains to be seen if that was _really_ the case, but if Kiran felt this excited over his own work, Anna was already giddy and hopeful.

"Uh-huh~ Here~" And with Kiran holding out his book to let the two take it, he seemed just as hopeful to impress the two, but he seemed especially warm to Alfonse. "I feel like you especially may like it too, Alfonse. Just for you~"

"Ah... Is that so? Thank you, Kiran, it's kind of you." He was polite and accepting of such, and whether or not the two liked it, Kiran didn't take long to skip off on his merry way in trusting his book to the two.

"Hah~ You were right all along about giving Kiran these blank books. He's really coming a long way from that shy boy who hardly speaks, isn't he?"

"Yes, that's true." Which Alfonse spoke passively to him, but admitted too that this was certainly a new side to Kiran even compared to how he was in private. He handled the book delicately, figuring Kiran must be especially proud in this. He and Anna settled in a place to sit while the two focused on the book, with Anna trusting Alfonse to flip past pages of Kiran's previous work scribbled out or finished otherwise.

* * *

There once was an asshole named "Surtr"  
And that bastard is quite the fucker  
He cheats like a bitch  
He makes my eye twitch  
And I hope this dawn suzu will make his ass pucker.

* * *

  
And then skipped over one more page for good measure, confident that probably wasn't part of any lyrics. He held the book between him and Anna.

* * *

Aren't you charming?  
Prying secrets from me.  
It's rather embarrassing, don't you agree?  
A doll at your beck and call.  
Is that not enough maybe?

Come, my darling.  
Give me intimacy!  
Unless you don't devote to me sincerely.  
Because after all, our  
love and death can come in threes.

How alarming!  
But think positively,  
Is it so bad to be my devotee?  
But let's not stop or stall, cuz  
I want you eternally.

How disarming!  
You'd read my words out with glee.  
Perhaps you can honor my one only plea.  
And it's so small, just  
_give your heart and soul to me._

* * *

  
"Ooooo, quite the romantic one, is he? Haha, who knew how much he was holding back all along." So far, Anna seemed to brighten at the results and could already tell where Kiran's boost of confidence came from.

  
"Um... Yes, he's quite... sentimental..." But by contrast, as much as Alfonse forced himself to smile, it wasn't fully in it. He did think the song was good so far, and didn't find anything particularly wrong with it, but something was still off somehow in a way he couldn't put his finger on.

* * *

Let's play a game where I can watch you crack,  
taking blows, back to back.  
I'll have you on your knees in no time flat  
Beg for me to heal you back

To hear you beg and plea with words unsaid  
Filled with dread, clothes dyed red.  
I'll give you mercy, dry those tears you've shed.  
Cuz after all dear, I don't want you dead.

Watch you bled,  
You fill with dread,  
I suppose you feel you've been mislead.  
But with all my darker needs and thoughts all overfed  
Why don't we focus just on you instead?

Tired out with things unsaid  
Pounding head, spirit shred.  
I find it cute how you turned tail and fled  
It makes it worth it not to leave you dead.

* * *

"Hahaha rawwwrl~ He stuck with Nina too long, I guess." But where Anna was caught up to this surprise, unseen, feisty side of Kiran, Alfonse seemed even more reserved and uncertain about the tone of it. He did see it possible Kiran would show a vastly different mood in written form than spoken word, but he was even more suspicious of what brought this out.

* * *

  
And it's a bore  
That makes me snore  
To just end the war.

That man from Nohr  
And Embla's war  
Can wait just a bit more.

You were in awe,  
when saved by moi,  
ah ha ha haha~

And as you saw  
Surtr's main flaw  
stabbed his corpse cold and raw.

Dear, life's too short  
for small retorts.  
Can't we just get along?

Who need Askr?  
You're my master,  
yet you feed off my palm.

And I adore  
your looks before  
making you cry and roar.

There's more in store  
for you, therefore  
_I'll keep you begging for more._

* * *

  
"Hah~ Bravo~ And better yet, not a single curse word in sight! I may not even have to do anything more with this! If he could keep this kind of energy up, we'll be rolling in gold in no time~"

But where Anna was certainly won over with the prospect of a song all cleaned up and ready to go from the start, Alfonse's growing feelings bubbled and finally spilled, unable to hold back his suspicions anymore.

"I... It's certainly something, but I wouldn't be so quick to use this, Commander..."

"Huh? Why not? ...Oh! Right, because he wrote this about you, right? Guess you have a point this'll certainly rub whatever's going on between the two of you all over the army, huh..." Which made her deflate that perhaps _some_ work may be in order still to spread this same energy and effort while being respectful to Alfonse's boundaries, but he shook his head in dismissing her train of thought.

"No, it's fine, but... I don't believe this is Kiran's work." 

"Wha? How come?" At first, Anna was about to bring up how they clearly saw him write in it, up until she just as quickly reminded herself about the possibility of Loki. But she still hesitated in wondering why Loki would go through great lengths to write anything, especially when, to her, Kiran's words were just as raw here as any other time. "I mean, you saw his work, he does go a bit overboard without an editor."

"Not like this." Alfonse shook his head, his faith in Kiran remaining true, and his thoughts staying firm. "He gets emotional and crude, but he wouldn't be this aggressive and predatorial like this..."

"Alfonse, Commander, heeey~!"

Perfect timing. Sharena happily waved toward the two, and she brightened moreso in seeing the two take pause just long enough to wave back. But what stood out to Alfonse moreso was not only was Kiran there with her, but so was Genny, the two hugging a book in either of their arms, albeit Kiran's was a new book to add to his collection, it seemed. Yet again, Alfonse's smile softened and warmed toward Kiran, although he found it even easier to do so this time than a moment ago.

"Kiran, just the guy we're looking for! Your song earlier went great! And I'm impressed you stayed clean on the lyrics the whole time, haha~!"

But in confirming Alfonse's suspicions, Kiran's cheeks visibly flushed, but he seemed utterly lost of what she was talking about, especially when his last song was definitely far from clean.

"...Er... Weren't you here a moment ago?" The possibility it was Loki grew stronger, but maybe from still being in denial, the question came out sooner than she could stop herself. Kiran seemed even more confused and shyly shook his head.

"Ah? But Kiran was with us for quite some time. Oh! That is... I'm sorry for keeping him from you for so long. We both had a great time bouncing story ideas and writing that we lost track of time." Even Genny seemed oblivious of what went on just as Kiran and Sharena were.

"...Aaaaaagh." Conceding defeat, Anna buried her face in frustration as she groaned into her palms. It left Kiran timidly approaching Anna just enough to pat her shoulder out of sympathy, clueless as he was of what went on.


	5. Last Song, Done Right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiran wrote a love song for Alfonse! ...Except it turned out, that wasn't actually Kiran who wrote it. What began as a setup to a joke on Loki's part may have exposed Kiran's actual feelings sooner than he was ready, and for once, he's left with a painful bout of writer's block, struggling to write the song that mattered most to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To the tune of Last Night, Good Night from Vocaloid.
> 
> Thanks for reading! For post updates, questions, art and general random silliness in between, check me out at eriisaam.tumblr.com for more!

Something was wrong. Maybe the others were too focused on being encouraging and kind to realize, but Alfonse barely held back from pointing it out and outing Kiran if he himself didn't want to air out his feelings on his own.

It was interesting to see other heroes have their own creative sides that Kiran's work might've helped bring out in the open. It was just as interesting, if a bit frustrating for Alfonse, to see Loki was no exception, and even Kiran seemed to brighten with interest at her work, once all the confusion settled.

But there was something that didn't sit right with either of the two. At first, he noticed how reserved and distracted Kiran seemed to be, initially thinking it was just him being tired. Alfonse had a fair guess the others had a similar idea and didn't press it. But where everyone else seemed to leave it at that, he couldn't help but notice even more changes the more he kept an eye out on Kiran. 

He saw how the more Anna gushed about Loki's lyrics and her intentions, the more Kiran's smile seemed faint and forced. He noticed Kiran was clearly trying his best to focus on their field duties and teams, but he noticed his song book disappear fairly quickly, replaced with parchments he seemed stressed out to write in. He was still as friendly and focused as ever when they needed him, but he seemed to lose all motivation to do anything more since Anna's suggestions of his own version of what Loki did. To her credit, she tried to apologize, as much as none of them understood what ran in Kiran's mind. But while he tried to forgive her and pretend it was all ok, it didn't change the way he seemed aloof, distant, and unmotivated when not otherwise fulfilling his duties. Unfortunately for Anna, his sudden change in his mood also meant he completely stopped writing lyrics, or for that matter, write in his books in general. In what few times he wrote at all, it was on parchment he seemed much more careful to keep to himself.

As much as Anna was still left confused of Kiran's distance and frustrated of his decision to quit abruptly, she thankfully had enough sense not to chase him down and force him to produce again in favor of trying to figure out what went wrong. Unfortunately, Kiran became rather adept to running off the exact instant he had a break or could call it a day, to the degree even Alfonse had difficulties finding him much of the day anymore. He asked around only to get polarizing answers among the heroes of where they last saw Kiran and when, helping him slowly but surely take a guess of where to look next to find him. By the time he had a set plan, he snuck into the mess hall to grab some food before making his way to him.

To his relief, he guessed right. Tucked in a corner, in a table as far out of sight as possible in the library, Kiran was hidden behind stacks of manuals. Except Alfonse knew the unsorted excess of new manuals were stacked up to further shield him than because he was reading them. Moving around to see Kiran himself, he noticed right away he fell asleep beside a table, surrounded by papers and his pen still caught in his fingertips.

But the closer Alfonse approached him, the more he realized what he wrote along the sheets of parchment, and more glaringly, he could see streaks of tears coating his cheeks. By that point, Kiran was in a deep enough sleep that he didn't even stir at Alfonse's attempt to pat him on the shoulder. More, the parchment stuck out enough from under Kiran's arm that it took very little effort to gently pull them out to look. There were several scribbled out lines and shredded up parts torn partially in half before Kiran stopped himself in hesitance. But while Alfonse barely made out enough about Kiran rambling of liking something and wanting to talk of something else, one parchment was so far left intact out of the numerous failed attempts.

* * *

  
Maybe I'm dumb  
To think too hard on you.  
Some broke bum  
Writes like a fool.

And I feel numb  
from things I left unsaid.  
I'll keep some  
things unread.

Better that way  
with how things have been.  
Not that you would stay  
If I had told you then.

Just why?  
Why try?  
Let's say  
good bye.

I'm a dumbfuck  
that can't write songs.  
And what I'll say  
is shit and wrong.

* * *

  
"Kiran..." Was it because he was jealous of Loki? But he seemed so bright and warm to reading Genny's work or listening to Leanne's own songs, so why did Loki's song make him change his feelings all of a sudden? He noticed one line written far lower down from the others that was too dark for Kiran to hide even in his clear attempts to scribble it out.

* * *

I loved you then...

* * *

Oh.

That's... Oh.

...**_Shit._**

He blinked and leaned back in his chair. It felt like it took way longer for his body catch up when his mind processed what he just read. It made everything he saw back then fall in place. How Kiran seemed to lose all motivation, not in finding out what Loki wrote or how she posed as him, but that "tired" look was his heart breaking on finding out _why_ she wrote it. What they all thought was Kiran disengaging the more Anna tried to criticize him for his language and requests to "write more like this" was him trying subtly to run with his tail between his legs instead. It made Alfonse equally frustrated that Loki saw what he couldn't and exploited it, knowing Kiran's skin would be thinner on something like this.

He shook his head and straightened up. Normally, he would've preferred doing this with a proper inkwell and quill, but he wasn't about to risk losing sight of Kiran again, and if Kiran can write with his pen, so can he. It was something he couldn't leave alone even if he felt just as self-conscious about how to do it. He pried the pen out of Kiran's fingers and pulled a clean sheet of parchment to himself from Kiran's pile. Although it took way longer than he wanted to admit to figure a pen out, (Was it supposed to click like that? Is this active or not? Oh, wait, there's a nub, but does he just... write? Like this?), he wouldn't allow this to go on without at least trying to fix this somehow, even if it took him all night.

  
By the time Kiran stirred, Alfonse was long gone. It took him less than a moment to realize why he was in the library over his room, leaving all his feelings to stir up anew.

It didn't cross his mind how his papers weren't quite where he left them, or how his pen rolled off his hands and somehow moved beside his arm. He was somewhat better at noticing a piece of parchment folded up and leaning against packed food.

At first, he hesitated to touch either, as if expecting one or both to spring to life and attack him, but his stomach growled and he braved taking a peek of what the message had to say.

* * *

  
I was unfair.  
I was awful to you back then.  
From the start,  
I tried not to be your friend.

* * *

Already, Kiran felt even worse, especially when he was quick to realize this was Alfonse's handwriting. A part of him wanted to crumble up and throw the rest of the note away, his mind nearly made up.

But as much as he wanted to, he saw the sheer amount of scratched out attempts it took for him to settle on writing out the whole note. Kiran hesitantly began reading the rest of what Alfonse had to say, for better or worse.

* * *

But in the end  
I learned to hold you dear  
Otherwise  
I feel scared when you're not near

After all that  
I held back from fear  
But I realize now  
Something you need to hear

Last night  
wasn't right.  
I'm not  
that bright.

I let you cry.  
I was the fool.  
Deep down I feared  
of losing you.

Don't say  
good bye.  
Please stay.  
Here's why.

If I knew then  
what I know now  
I'd pay in blood  
no matter how.

I don't want this  
to be the end.  
Don't mind your words  
since even then

* * *

  
"Did either of you see Kiran this morning?"

Normally, Anna, both Askran siblings, and especially Kiran would've been the first to arrive to prepare and discuss battle tactics. To her frustrations and concerns, while Sharena and Alfonse arrived, Kiran was completely missing. More, it didn't go past her notice Alfonse's eyes were dull, and he had visible dark circles under his eyes that made Sharena lose her enthusiasm when she saw it.

"Alfonse, you look... what happened?!" Not that it was new for her brother to stay up all night, but she could hardly recall a time that it led to anything good. 

"Mn... It's fine." And it wasn't helped that with how lethargic he acted and felt, he was almost like how Kiran acted right before the summoner started to hide away from everyone. Worryingly, Anna noticed he also didn't seem to raise any fuss of Kiran not being with them, like he was resigned in this change of routine.

Which confused him when Anna and Sharena clearly both looked past him and perked up. It surprised him moreso when he turned around and saw Kiran, timidly holding the letter in his hands with all the confidence of expecting the three to ambush him. 

What drew him closer was seeing Alfonse not have the same level of confidence as normal right then. He had a similar timidness that confused Anna and Sharena to see, and especially lowered Kiran's guard.

Both of them connected the dots, however, as Sharena and Anna watched Alfonse slowly but surely brighten up in spite of his exhaustion, and watched the way he was willing to approach Kiran first. Neither of them spoke a word, and both girls realized just enough of what was going on to give the two space, despite Anna sharing concern over the two while Sharena perked up.

As hesitant as Alfonse was to so much as reach to him, let alone touch him, thinking Kiran might've changed his feelings by then, he huffed in surprise as Kiran took one look to him before rushing up to hug him. He accidentally squeezed the air out of Alfonse for a moment as his hug gave Alfonse his answer. Even if neither Kiran nor Alfonse were brave enough to show affection deeper than their embrace, Alfonse knew enough for Kiran that this was already taking a huge step out of his comfort zone, and for now, it was as good a start as any for them. They could take their time. After all, at least he knew...

* * *

  
I love you now.


	6. RINEA!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Berkut sees a reflection of himself of an outcome that could've been, his fear for Rinea grows as he's left in another world apart from her. When Feh delivers news that Kiran's power could now reach her, Berkut becomes stressed of the task of bringing her safely to him and extends that stress in pressuring Kiran to summon her by any means necessary.
> 
> Unfortunately, a stressed Kiran is not a Kiran known to make thoughtful snap decisions...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To the tune of Owata \\(^o^)/ (Super Turkish March) from Vocaloid
> 
> Also warning of major Echoes: Shadows of Valentia spoilers. (Even if Heroes kinda spoiled it on its own already too, whoops...)
> 
> Thanks for reading! For post updates, questions, art and general random silliness in between, check me out at eriisaam.tumblr.com for more!

Timidly, Kiran pressed on alongside Alfonse, Anna, Sharena, and the other heroes, trusting Alfonse's lead while trembling beside his arm. If not for the unsettling feeling around these woods, there were also the intense, dark auras radiating out of these four stray heroes likewise. Kiran tried his best to help ease them just enough to see them on their way, but one hero in particular kept trying to reach out to him in ways much more aggressive and obsessed compared to the other three.

  
Where Mareeta, Tiki and Corrin were at the mercy between their own impulses, or lulled by the helping hand of the fellow heroes willing to accompany the Askran royals and commander, Berkut was hellbent on seeking Kiran out specifically, uncaring of how much it was setting Kiran off to impulsively want to run and hide as long as he had his answers. Anna tried her best to be attentive to Berkut's concerns, partially in trying to make up for her own hand in upsetting Kiran lately, but moreso in empathizing with his anxieties to brave speaking to him to get to the meat of the issue. To his surprise, his own Berkut was another person who stood in between him and the Berkut of a doomed future, unwilling to give his fallen self an inch on reaching Kiran.

Thanks to the combined efforts of the Order of Heroes, Mareeta, Tiki, Corrin and Berkut were seen off to parts unknown. However, where Anna relaxed in relief she could protect her friend, the Berkut of a future left unwritten had his own agenda behind his gesture.

  
"A word, Kiran. If what that impostor said was true, then even if Rinea isn't here now, I am to understand there will be a point she may be summoned yet. I granted you my good will and protection, but when that day comes, the day your powers can reach her, you _will_ summon my Rinea to me in exchange. No matter the price."

  
Nervously, Kiran nodded. Anna explained as much to the other Berkut within this Berkut's earshot how his summoning worked, but Berkut was not one easily swayed by excuses no matter what timeline he came from. Still, while Berkut never forgot his contract of sorts he voluntold Kiran into, he did seem understanding enough to let the issue remain quietly in the back of Kiran's mind while news of Rinea and Kiran's ability to reach her remained uncertain.

  
At least it'll give Kiran plenty of time to cool his heels and focus on other things, right?

* * *

  
Rinea can be pulled?  
_Fuck._  
Splendid Soiree's gonna suck.  
"Hoot!"

* * *

  
Not quite.

  
The day finally arrived, and the mere instant Feh flew in with intel of a silhouette of a woman dancing in a ball, he knew immediately the woman was Rinea based on just how quickly Berkut sought him out and drilled into him their contract. He not only gave him a clear, tense reminder of their deal, but instilled the fear of pure Rigelian wrath into his entire being of what would happen if he _didn't_ call Rinea.

  
A promise was a promise. With Berkut left pacing, it was like a feedback loop that the more anxious Berkut grew of seeing Rinea here, the more it made Kiran, likewise, anxious as well, which just stirred Berkut up more. Deep down, Kiran realized that perhaps the Berkut of the fallen future stirred the Fear of Gods into this Berkut, and it was what heavily fueled his obsession and anxieties in bringing Rinea to him, but it was hard to comment on it when Kiran tried not to make Berkut snap in some form or fashion before Rinea would come.

At least he took some comfort that Feh believed in him, even if he couldn't tell whether or not Berkut also did.

* * *

  
Lord Berkut's a wreck,  
breathing down my neck.  
Now he's more obsessed with my orb count, last time I checked.

You know man,  
you _could_ help.  
Give me orbs and don't call me "whelp".

Screaming as a whole,  
"_You **will** serve your role!_  
_It's the least that you could do to make yourself useful!_"

Aaaand I helped you  
keep your soul.  
By the way, you're welcome, _asshole._

  
So I'm gonna go buy some orb packs. (By the way, will you repay me back?)  
If it helps to get you off my back. (Buying so much, I stopped keeping track...)  
But as usual, odds are pretty stacked,  
I warned you as much that summoning's not white and black,  
But whatever makes you less of a pain up my crack...

Rinea!  
To be fair, she's very sweet and kind and gentle.  
While Berkut  
shows the kindness of a speeding semi-truck.

Rinea!  
Guess she sees good even in the temperamental.  
Or Berkut  
is just someone that she's really down to-

* * *

  
"Hoot!"

  
Alfonse blinked up in looking to Kiran, noticing him scribble furiously, not just on his diary, but moreso on several other important notes that he recognized usually followed a sudden influx of orbs in their supply. He didn't dare try to touch Kiran's diary right away, but he felt an unsettling chill run down the back of his neck as Kiran carried a whole stack of these documents with him, all while Feh perched and rode on the top of his hood that Alfonse still couldn't tell if Kiran was aware of or not. With the way Kiran's eye twitched and how manic he looked and acted, Alfonse hesitated to push him too hard to stop him just yet to explain himself. Still, it left him highly frustrated that Kiran didn't mention anything of what was going on to him, much as he could guess it had something to do with Berkut from watching the two.

He couldn't, however, shake off the unsettling feeling there was a storm brewing, particularly with the track record of what usually drove Kiran to make and cash in on wherever he keeps getting these payment slips from, let alone so many.

* * *

So a thing I learned the hard way about seasonals from Takumi  
that gives me a bit of summoning PTSD,  
is how limited and stacked their odds appearing for you are  
that they practically require you go on a spending spree.

But I'm determined to get Rinea regardless of the how's and when's.  
And for now I'm not quite so quick to give up, so I'll pull up a ring then.  
Red, grey, blue, green, red again...  
...Er, what color was it that I'm supposed to snipe again?

Rinea!  
Please have mercy and show up for me, pronto!  
Or Berkut  
will come find me and forcefeed me my own balls.

As I watch  
how my pity rate keeps repeatedly breaking,  
my orb count  
keep on shrinking as I've slowly pissed them all.

Orb count in the hole  
I can feel my soul  
trying to escape out of my ass under the toll.

Rinea,  
what the fuck?  
Is it a sign that I ran out of luck?

Failing at my goal  
pulling my last roll  
At best all I got is fodder to give Death Blow 4

"Aaah Summoner,  
your face is blue!  
You'll be too tired for Tempest Trial! Hoo~"

I watched Feh fly off, taking the hint. (Like the flying version of a sprint.)  
She comes back with news that my eyes squint. (Odd time to notice she smells like mint...)

As I lift my head,  
mind filling with dread,  
After all the stress from Berkut with news I first read,  
there was news on Splendid Soiree of Rinea I misread.

Rinea,  
as it turns out, is a Tempest Trial freebie  
So therefore,  
I realize that I had really dropped the ball.

As I read  
all the news Feh brought, the truth slowly dawns on me,  
I'll get her,  
and I didn't need to spend on orbs at all!

_Uuuuwuuuu_  
_Lost in my thoughts, all alone_  
_La-la-la-la-laaaaaaa_

_Uuuwuuu_  
_Grinding til I bring Rinea home_  
_Ha-ha-ha-ha-haaaaa_

Laaaaaaa  
Bwaaaah  
Waaaaa  
Wah ha ha haaa ha!  
HA! TA-_**DAAA**AAAAAaaaaaa..._

I feel so sick I can smell colors now...

* * *

  
Armed with the power of anxiety, adrenaline, and an unhealthy amount of stamina pots, The Order of Heroes among other onlookers were equal amounts amazed and horrified to watch Kiran lead an army to victory and burn through a copious amount of stamina pots to not only rescue Rinea from its chaotic grasp, but further flush away the tempest in its entirety almost as soon as it touched down. It even left Berkut taking pause in realizing what kind of force he unleashed by pushing just a bit too much, but his thoughts on Kiran finally relented in his immense relief to see his beloved, shedding his frosty and prickly self for her and her alone in happily embracing her and cuddling her in his arms without a care or thought otherwise of whoever watched or commented on it.

Then again, such a feat didn't come without a price, and Alfonse rushed over to catch and hold Kiran when he inevitably overdid it and collapsed. Everything else became a massive blur between the point Kiran took out the tempest and the various points Kiran woke up, but between Genny and Leanne fussing and treating him of his stress-induced illness, and what Sharena, Fjorm and Eir relayed to him in rotation, it turned out Rinea, though soft and gentle in most cases, had quite the voice to her when Kiran's diary wound up in both her and Alfonse's hands. The rest of the army couldn't honestly tell who was louder between her or Alfonse that day, but it brought some amusement among heroes to see Berkut, for once, turn timid and meek of it.

But then that was something for Kiran to worry about later. He could hear Leanne singing now while feeling himself be healed again, and his eyes grew heavier as he drifted back to sleep.


	7. A lady's beautiful dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the harvest festival is soon approaching, various heroes are already unable to wait to share frightening horror stories with one another. After Kiran becomes especially inspired, perhaps he took the inspiration a bit too well in his work...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To the tune of Mrs. Pumpkin's Comical Dream.
> 
> Thanks for reading! For post updates, questions, art and general random silliness in between, check me out at eriisaam.tumblr.com for more!

"It's that time again~"

  
Sharena beamed with pride as there were preparations set by the more eager of the heroes either caught up in the excitement of the Harvest Festival or kind enough to at least humor Sharena and others of it. Xander was all too happy to supply Sharena with materials to let her and Feh among others and keep her occupied, particularly with her taking so well to a Nohrian festival more than a lot of Nohrians would, and reluctant to spoil the spirit otherwise.

But it wasn't simply Nohrians or Sharena's friends caught up in the festivities, as Alfonse noticed. He could see the way Kiran looked up to Azura and Kagero right then. As surprising as it was, Kagero, for reasons only known to her, was already planning on dressing up for the occasion, even if for now her costume remained tucked under her arms, having only just been handed to her by Oboro as the two crossed paths. Kiran's eyes lit up and he scribbled notes every so often as Kagero and especially Azura spoke, clearly catching his attention for every word. Even if Alfonse was too far away, and the commotion too loud to clearly overhear, he rose an eyebrow when whatever it was, it inspired Sakura to turn pale and immediately bolt toward Takumi to cling to him when she listened for too long of what was said.

He held back from asking. By then, Kiran was not only open to share what he wrote to him, but he was usually the first nowadays Kiran eagerly showed his work to on his own prompt, and Alfonse was happy to oblige, be it right away or to keep Kiran's work for when he had the free time otherwise to let his guard down.

This was one such occasion. By then, Kiran only just turned in for the night in the form of collapsing face-first onto the pillow of their now-shared bed. At least he was relieved to see Kiran bounce back in health after Berkut burned him out too much over his anxiousness to retrieve Rinea for him, but he was also relieved of RInea's endless insistence and promises against a repeat incident.

For now, after tucking Kiran in on his side of the bed when he was far too gone to do it himself, he eased beside him while reading Kiran's work. Surely, it couldn't be _that_ bad, right?

* * *

  
There's a time  
And a lesson  
Taught to us in old legends.

Here's a tale,  
or a warning,  
whatever, now let's begin.

This is a tale of a pretty lady.  
But not everything of her is nice, you see.  
Literally from ear to ear, she smiles with glee,  
She hides with a mask, the scissor-armed lady.

* * *

  
Outside well past midnight,  
you left your home, when it's ill-advised.  
You ignored your parents,  
and their paranoid lies.

"Don't get let your guard down to that masked lady,  
She is very sinister as she is pretty."

As you turned a corner,  
she stood right there, the girl in red.  
Though her mouth was covered,  
with a masked smile, she said:

"So glad you could meet with me.  
It fills my heart with glee~  
You had me all worried...  
Now please come with me."

And with a step and twirl,  
and a tightened hand,  
she moved with a grace, unlike any man.  
(Run away, run away, run while you still can..!)

A smile across her face,  
something shined in her hand,  
she got more than she planned.

A ring?  
Her hand?  
Oh, happy day~!

* * *

  
This is a tale of a pretty lady.  
But not everything of her is nice, you see.  
Literally from ear to ear, she smiles with glee,  
She hides with a mask, the scissor-armed lady.

But then what's so scary  
about such a nice lady?

* * *

After your proposal,  
joy was had and tears were shed.  
Both of you were love-struck,  
as you both walked ahead.

With the ring you gave her,  
She enchanted you so that you two would wed.  
But, in just a moment,  
she turned to ask, with dread,

"Without this mask do you think I look pretty...?" (Run, run, run away! Run, run, run away! Run, run, run away!)

"Would you like to look like me...?" (Run, run, run away! _Run, run, run away! **Run, run, run away!**_)

What?

With a step and twirl,  
and a tightened hand,  
she moved with a grace, unlike any man.  
(Run away, run away, run while you still can..!)

A smile across her face,  
something shined in her hand,  
you got far more than you ever had planned.

* * *

  
Why would the girl  
ask you of that?

Why is her face  
torn up like that?

(Buh-dum)

Wait, what is that  
tight in her hand?

What is it now,  
that she has planned?

(Buh-dum)

As you turn around to flee,  
You hear her laugh in glee,  
"Come play a game with me!"  
"Somebody, please save me!"

Five

Four

Three, Two, One

**SHE'S COMING!**

Running even with your fate sealed,  
It was quite brave  
but also futile.  
As you ran for dear life,  
you regretted all the warnings you scoffed at until now.

Run

Jump

Run

Jump

Hide

Shh

Stay

Hide

"There you are! Let's fix your face up now!"

Tick

Tok

Tick

Tok

Your blood falls,  
drop by drop.

Tick

Tok

Tick

Tok

Your blood falls,  
drop by drop.

"Ah, you're so lovely...  
That you would take time to sing, just for me.  
To think that after everything,  
you would still sing a love song with me."

AAAAA!  
Aaaaaa~

Aaaaaa....  
Aaaaaa~

aaaaaa....  
_Aaaaa~_

And then you'd sing no more.

With a step and twirl,  
and a tightened hand,  
she moved with a grace, unlike any man.  
(Too late, too late, your death was at hand.)

A frown across her face,  
something red in her hand,  
her face scowled at her man.

Ugly.

Petty.

He's too vain.

And with a step and twirl,  
and a tightened hand,  
she moved with a grace, unlike any man.  
(What now, what now, what does she have planned?)

A smile across her face,  
something shined in her hand,  
she proclaimed to her man:

"I cannot love someone who hates my face."

So she left you, her steps moving with grace.

  
Lost without any trace.

Click

Clack

Click

Clack

Who is next  
to attack?

"Watashi kirei?"

Who is next  
to attack?

"Well? _Am I pretty?_"

* * *

  
"What? Of course I have nothing to be afraid of, Kiran."

Kiran pouted heavily, but he rather stubbornly clinged to Alfonse in a hug while insisting to stick by his side. It didn't go unnoticed he could hear Alfonse's breaths were shakey, and at times, his body trembled before he could help himself. It also didn't go past his notice when the wind blew too hard and the branch of a tree briefly bumped against the glass of the window, making him jump and arm himself out of reflex.

No amount of Kiran's glaring convinced Alfonse to drop the act, but no amount of flustered staring convinced Kiran to drop his suspicions either.

"Please, go back to sleep, Kiran. I'll protect you."

He pouted more. Protect him from _what?_ He stubbornly clinged to him and outright groaned into Alfonse's back in his hold of him, clearly demonstrating his concerns wasn't about whether or not he'd be safe to sleep tonight.

It ended up being a war between the two that ended with Sharena not only learning the two overslept, but both dozed off on one another in awkward positions, trying and failing to force each other to sleep first.


	8. A Dancer's Ordeal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A dancing competition is had as the soiree of the month ends on a splendid note, the more musically-inclined of the dancers face off for one final battle of steps and vocals.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To the tune of Ai no Shiren (Ordeal of Love) from Vocaloid
> 
> Thanks for reading! For post updates, questions, art and general random silliness in between, check me out at eriisaam.tumblr.com for more!

While the base of operations for the Order of Heroes had cycled through numerous celebrations from all across the worlds spanning different cultures and styles of dance, the excitement, infectious as it may, slowed and calmed as the month of dancing drew nearly to a close while the month of harvest loomed closer by the day. It was only fair and fitting that the month of dance would end on a gentler, relaxed note with a ballroom-style party in the dance halls of Kiran's Aether Resort.

...Or it _would_ have been peaceful, if many of the dancers - particularly those who dance more specifically for this month than in general - weren't so highly competitive, and varying levels of subtle of such.

Night fell, and the party was in full swing. By then, many heroes arrived, stripped of their normal battle attire (or _mostly_ so, for some,) and donning much more formal wear. It didn't take long for many to start pairing off with dance partners, some even swapping partners on occasion, until a small handful either opted against dancing altogether or seemed to linger for one reason or another.

As Sharena separated from Alfonse's side, she was gently guided into a dance with a less grim-looking Eir to the center floor. Initially, Anna grew concerned of how hopeful Alfonse still looked in spite of the painfully obvious lack of the oft-hooded summoner for such a concerning amount of time. At least, up until Alfonse brightened up at the sight of Soren approaching him with a strangely equally-brightened and cute smile.

...Or _was_ that Soren? He looked far younger, significantly less grumpier, shorter, and had blue eyes over the red eyes she remembered the actual Soren had. The most glaring issue of all was the lack of a brand on his forehead, to say nothing of his sudden interest in someone who wasn't Ike.

"Wait... _Kiran?_"

'Soren' smiled brightly and nodded to her, confirming he was, in fact, Kiran. As much as Alfonse was long since used to seeing Kiran without his hood or coat, his smile seemed suspiciously brighter about Anna's reaction to the rare sight of Kiran wearing less obscuring clothes, opting now for a prim and proper suit like his own, and a noticeable ribbon behind his ponytail.

"Commander, do you have a dance partner as well?"

"Ah, no." But before giving Alfonse or Kiran much chance to react, let alone pity her, she was quick to interrupt. "But it wasn't for lack of finding one! I'll have you know I got _quite_ the offers this year! No, I've had my eyes set on other things."

"Such as?"

"This month's voting gauntlet of course! What better way to end the month of dancing before the month of harvest officially starts, right? And there's been quite the surprising turnout this time, anyways."

Indeed. As Alfonse and Kiran focused on the stage, the two could clearly see Shigure and Olivia, to the surprise of nobody. However, there was also Laslow, who for the night, insisted to perform with his mother and take up his original name, all while similarly taking to the stage with Ishtar, Reinhardt, and both Berkut and Rinea. In a surprisingly charitable mood, Anna shared small flags to give to Kiran, particularly as payment for his contribution to the gauntlet's setup, but was a bit more of an opportunist in terms of how to profit off the night otherwise on her distribution of flags to everyone else. Still, she kept her price temptingly low, and most were in good spirits of buying them, particularly when realizing what they're for.

The participants knew ahead of time it was a competition of dance, but upon realizing Shigure - the son of the enchanting songstress of Nohr and Hoshido - was among them, it didn't stay as _just_ such for long.

* * *

"Let us begin this at once.  
To the victor,  
goes the better dancer."

"Rather bold how you start.  
Perhaps we won't need the music to be faster."

"If I may say, Milord.  
It's quite risky,  
to be so quick to assume you'll beat me."

"And perhaps you would find it wiser of you,  
settling our score here than talk so freely."

"So it has to be...  
that you would dance with me...  
But I'm quite surprised you'd join to sing this melody with me."  
"Maybe there is more to me,  
just you wait, Shigure."

"So let both dance a goddess dance."  
"If my Lord Berkut wishes, as you say."

"Aaaaaaa~" "Aaaaaaa~"  
"Aaaaaaa~" "Aaaaaaa~"  
"Aaaaaaa~""Aaaaaaa~"  
"Aaaaaaa~""Aaaaaaa~"

"This is a bit much for me...  
I can feel them.  
All the eyes locked on me..."

"I feel a might like this 'ere's well out o' my league,  
but now'sa bit too late fer me ta turn ma tail and go n' flee..."

"Oh, what'll I do now? It's really mortifying!"  
"Guess yer feelin' just th' same as what's unnervin' me."  
"Ah, and now they're staring!"

"Well, if the two of you will give up just like that,  
winning this whole gauntlet will prove quite easy."

"Well come now, Sir Berkut.  
No need to be a brute.  
Though thinking you'll beat Lady Ishtar is a thought that is rather somewhat cute."  
"Reinhardt, there's no need for that..."  
"Oh? Bold words from such a-"

"Please. The music had just begun!"  
"Then let us sing together all as one..."

* * *

  
"Hearts stopped,  
flags dropped.  
We dance, 

for the people whom want us to win.

It's for us they believe in.

Time is ticking.

And when  
we then  
hear them, 

and the winner they put faith in.

Some of us dance once again."

* * *

  
"Hrn.  
Sorry then Rinea,  
it seems I must bid adieu..."

"It has been an honor  
and a pleasure dancing off against you."

"And so as the people chose it,  
I am at an end."

"I shall keep the spirit dancing  
just for you, my friend."

"Mmhm, mhm,  
please continue dancing for me.  
Go, enchant the crowd."

"Thank you for your kind words, Ishtar,  
and I promise that I'll make you proud~"

"To be kinda honest  
I'm jus' glad fer me, this is th' end."

"Wait, but then that means  
I must still dance once again!"

_"Aaaaa""aaaaa"aaaaa""aaaaa~"_

"So, you dance from Ylisse,  
as Inigo,  
or as Laslow, knight of Nohr?"

"W-well, that tale's quite the bore.  
Surely you'd be far more interested in something more..."

"Must you be so discreet?  
To act like such,  
it's difficult not to be intrigued."

"Yes, well, it's such a complicated subject.  
Certainly not one with such grand mystique!"

"Is that really so?  
You're quite the shy fellow.  
It seems that your face is covered now with such a vibrant cherry glow-"  
"I-it's old news from long ago!  
Now, I have moves to show!

Besides, I'm sure you keep your secrets quite caged.  
Well, wouldn't you agree, Sir Knight of Freige?"

* * *

  
"Uwaaah..."  
"Hm~ hm-hm-hm-hm~"  
"Aaaaaa..."  
"Hm~ hm-hm~ Hm-hm~"  
"To see him dance like this..."  
"Hm? What do you ever mean?"

"I'm so proud of Laslow...  
Or I should say  
that I'm proud of Inigo..."

"Even in spite of what the vote gauntlet says,  
I'm glad, too, for these sides that my Lord Berkut shows."

"Ah-! Well, I'm glad we both agree on that!  
He makes for a scary diplomat..."  
"Yes, unfortunately...  
Er-! On the contrary, he's sweet inside, you see.  
He is gentle and treats me so tenderly."

"Ah, that's so cute to know~"  
"So, tell me of Laslow~"  
"Well, you see, he also has his layers he is rather shy to show-"  
"M-Mother, do they need to know-?!"  
"Oh! Erm, sorry dear, I-"

"Er... perhaps we should drop this, then?"  
"Well, let us join our voices once again."

* * *

  
"Hearts stopped,  
flags dropped.  
We dance, 

for the people whom want us to win.

It's for us they believe in.

Time is ticking.

And when  
we then  
hear them, 

and the winner they put faith in.

Two of us dance once again."

* * *

  
"Ah,  
So my time has come now.  
Laslow, I bid you adieu."

"Nervous as your tactics make me,  
I must say, it's been a pleasure, too."

"Ah, it's so relieving I won't have to dance again...  
But it's been quite fun and worth it just to make a new friend~"  
"Oh my, really~?"

"Now if you'll excuse me, may I have this final dance?  
Surely, at this point, there's not much point to worry over who would win?"  
"Even if your words are so, for us it is one final chance,  
dancing with our hearts in tandem, the last match begins."

* * *

  
As passionately as they moved in their steps and sang their words out among one another, the competition narrowed to just Laslow and Rinea. Thankfully, Berkut remained a good enough sport not to intervene despite the occasional uncertain glances worrying of otherwise, and as the votes willed it, Laslow offered his hand to take Rinea's to dance once last time as a pair. While normally, there would still be one more round of voting to remain of which of the two were the better dancer between Laslow and Rinea, the formal, casual, unique nature of this particular gauntlet dulled the competitive edge of the finals and made a definite winner more of a formality in favor of emphasizing the finalists as a dancing pair.

It was all for fun and games anyways, but even with such in mind, Rinea was just as determined as Laslow to make the final dance count just enough to give back to the people who voted for the two so strongly.

Of course, while Laslow was happy to obliged, and as relieving as it was Berkut didn't interfere _directly_, he was keenly aware of how heavily Berkut stared at the two of them the whole time. Laslow tried to hide from Rinea the immense anxiety he had to mind his feet and the gentleness he handled her with as a partner. Because so help him, there would be no god between Nohr, Ylisse or all of Valentia to save him if he messed up with her now.


	9. Kiran, why are you like this?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Faced with a foe who could make or break their future, Kiran surprisingly has the answer to how to secure a future Lif couldn't.
> 
> However, the Order of Heroes might be rethinking their decision to trust Kiran with firearms...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This songfic  
Is based on  
The tune of  
They by Jem  
I’m sorry,  
so sorry  
I'm sorry  
For ruining They.
> 
> Thanks for reading! For post updates, questions, art and general random silliness in between, check me out at eriisaam.tumblr.com for more!

He failed him.

Somehow, some way, Kiran failed him along the way.

Surely that’s why Lif came to be as he was, right? Even if Lif was vague of the circumstances of how and when his Kiran died between the rite to power the heart, or something earlier, it was clear from the pained look and grief in his eyes it was a subject too painful for him to speak of even if he wasn’t trying to be vague on purpose. His look spoke more words of what happened to his Kiran than anything he could’ve said otherwise.

Sharena and Anna knew as much that Lif would’ve stirred many different emotions in Alfonse and Kiran, but what left them stunned were just how differently the two would’ve reacted to it all. Something clearly broke in both of them, but it was a sharp contrast in the ways either of them did so.

Alfonse would stress himself to a near breaking point more often. When he was awake, he was holed up in his room, pouring over notes he took and plans he drew of how to proceed without repeating Lif’s mistakes. The problem was, Lif acted with a sound mind and fairly concrete plans for what he could do at the time, and Alfonse’s own plans struggled and blurred trying too hard to find a fine line between differences and outright foolish plans for the sake of being different. He hardly could tell anymore whether his own plans were sound or not the more an overwhelming feeling of uselessness, foolishness and fear of failure took over his mind. There was more than one instance Alfonse couldn’t take anymore and, in his most vulnerable state, crumbled in Kiran’s chest and cried.

Maybe that’s why Lif’s sanity broke as it had. Because Kiran was much more of his support pillar than he initially realized. Only Kiran would bother waste time with a useless prince like him. Not even his own father held much faith or saw much promise in him, and he even paid with his life for his carelessness. He also wasn’t ignorant to how many other lords would far surpass him. He broke in ways Kiran was neither prepared for nor saw before as Alfonse was crumbling further under the weight of not just how hopeless it was to escape this fate, but the overwhelming fear he might make things far worse.

  
  
  


Kiran… changed.

There was definitely grief in his heart. It wasn’t just toward seeing what he could’ve become as Lif, but seeing his Alfonse break like this as well. He supported him through what he could, cradling Alfonse close to him and remaining warm when he needed him to be, all without judgement or ridicule. 

With too many things running in Alfonse’s mind, it would figure he was blind to the ways Kiran changed that everyone else were alarmingly aware of in the times they saw him. There was a different demeanor and look to him. There was an erratic way he twitched, and an unhinged look to his eyes now. It alarmed everyone when Eir - the princess so known for being normally so stoic and void of most emotion on her face - backed away from visiting Kiran as quickly as she tried. Her self-preservation instincts were far stronger than her wishes to request for a private meeting, and she backed off with a look of fear in her eyes while doing so. 

Vengeance.

_ Revenge. _

_ Hel would rue the fucking day she messed with Alfonse no matter which one. _

There was an air to him that was like a demon’s, biding their time before unleashing chaos in the world. The only time shades of his earlier self would surface was only long enough for Alfonse’s sake, but he couldn’t so easily fool anyone else. 

* * *

He’s pacing,

mind racing,

over odds

they’re facing.

He’s worried.

“But what then…?

If Kiran

died again…?”

“Hey…”

“Hmm…?”

“Alf…”

“Please…

Don’t…

I…

Can’t…”

“Alf…”

  
  


Speaking out like a fool,

"Let me beat Hel for you!"

"Let's please drop this today…"

But Kiran set his ways.

"Alfonse, please-"

"_ No. _ At ease."

"But Alfonse-"

"Don't do this…"

He promised,

with a kiss.

But took this

task as his.

* * *

As Kiran tucked an exhausted Alfonse in bed to rest, gently disengaging from him long enough to slip away from him and sneak out, Kiran put his plans in motion. If the conventional ways Alfonse knew wouldn’t work, Kiran was more than ready to employ his own world’s solutions. It was worth a try, anyways. He left the Askran prince to try to rest and recover as Kiran was running through so many of his own plans on how to approach this.

  
  


“Kiran… I.. There is something I must do, and I can only do it when we are alone. It… It isn’t something that is easy for me to do. It’s also something my mother commanded of me to do…”

It pained Eir that it would come to this. Just as Kiran seemingly had Alfonse calmed enough to separate from him, she approached him with a heavy heart and a timid look, resigning herself to her fate. 

She poured her heart out to him once more. She aired out insecurities she couldn’t bring herself to hurt Sharena with to tell her instead. Hel gave her the order to kill Kiran, but she relented long enough to tell Kiran in figuring she would either have Hel’s will imposed on her to follow through, or that Kiran, especially in his current state, would bring her mercy and end her life instead.

  
  


The broad, deranged grin he had for her was far from the outcome she expected. She was just as easily disarmed when Kiran grabbed her arm and dragged her right into the training room he gradually filled with other heroes in what was quickly amounting to a surprise conference. She saw a sudden spark of inspiration in him that made her take pause, curious of where Kiran’s plans were heading, especially when the people he gathered included people like Henry, Veronica and a few healers.

And just like that, she saw for herself why Anna held high hopes for him as a tactician in times he actually bothered to fulfill that role instead of her. 

He left her baffled to a point of agreeing just even for curiosity’s sake to 'kill' and deliver the corpse of, not him, but a duplicate of him. Or so he explained... He wanted to use it to their advantage the expectation Hel had of her to kill him, knowing they were on to something as to why Hel would want to dispose of Kiran so early. 

But it wasn’t just any corpse, he wanted a ‘corpse’ to lure Hel with just enough to let her guard down. He enticed heroes like Henry with ideas of strange concoctions Eir didn’t really think about that would yield highly explosive results, according to Kiran. It left Henry’s ears ringing and his attention thoroughly perked at the idea of working with the healers to construct a trap with enough force and shrapnel to crush and shred her apart, all under the guise of Kiran’s freshly killed corpse. Kiran didn’t even bat an eye to the list of ‘ingredients’ and methods Henry had of how to cast a convincing hex for such no matter how fast the color drained out of everyone else’s faces to hear it.

All this, and he spoke with a silver tongue and patience against the petty threats Veronica threw at him to convince her to cooperate with him. All he asked was for her to join him long enough to perform the rite quietly and in the background, while Hel had her attention drawn elsewhere. For once, she saw eye to eye with him, if only under the condition he kept his word of a death far more brutal for Hel than even Alfonse would’ve approved of.

It left Eir too confused, baffled and timid between Kiran’s far scarier demeanor and the sudden plans laid out in front of her to protest.

* * *

It’s like zombie games said.

Apply bullet to head.

I’ll solve this with my guns,

And then we fucking run.

Oh, one thing,

just one thing.

Nobody

tell Alf this.

If he knew

about this,

he would be

beyond pissed.

* * *

The plan’s set.

Hel’s debt’s met.

Just you wait, 

this isn’t over yet.

“Kiran?”

Her doom’s near.

This is it.

And even Alfonse is here-

Oh _ shit. _

* * *

Stunned and silent,

Off his hopes went.

Kiran met an end so violent.

There his corpse was,

he died because

Alfonse failed again, as he does.

Why wouldn’t Kiran just listen?

Why did Alfonse fail him right then…?

Was it fated he’d die again…?

Would he continue to fail them…?

He cried.

* * *

  
  


“Kiran, no...

Please Gods no…

Please don’t let

this be so...”

  
  


He crumbled. After all,

he wasn’t in the know.

  
  
  


His heart sank.

Numb and cold.

Alf improved the act, though.

We rigged it

to explode.

They realized

Hel got trolled.

  
  


Maybe I know fuck all,

But I can’t let you fall.

Just like that, at my call,

it was a free-for-all.

In the rush,

I’ve yelled threats

that would’ve

made Niles blush.

I took aim,

rite finished.

“This one is for Lif, ** _bitch._ **”

* * *

It was done. With the rite, it robbed Hel of her ethereal form and immortal lifespan to render her mortal… Just in time for the combination of the close-ranged explosion and live fire that ensued to completely overwhelm her. For what was left of her, and what little life she clinged to, Kiran didn’t even let her get more than a strained breath in before he finished her off with both Breidabliks. He took far longer to stop opening fire on her than she was able to survive.

As planned, everyone kept their distance and hid behind shelter from the incoming shrapnel and blast radius. Fortunately, even the Order of Heroes were in enough of a distance to stay out of range of Hel, let alone the rigged, false Kiran corpse. With Lif and Thrasir avenged, Eir free, and his word of a vicious death kept, Veronica was satisfied enough to grant the Askrans ‘mercy’ just enough to not threaten or attack him as she saw herself out and back to Embla. It was like a massive weight was lifted and the world felt less bleak.

** _“Kiran what the hell were you thinking?!”_ **

Except for Alfonse.

_ “You promised me! You did everything to give me your word and you completely went against it!” _

To Alfonse’s credit, he tried - through gritted teeth and a tense look - to take in what happened for what it was. Hel was gone, the future that doomed Lif was no more for them, and Kiran helped secure his future and everyone else’s no matter how unconventionally and destructively he did so. He was relieved for this, moreso that Kiran was alive and well after all, and tried to hold his feelings in on their way back home until they were back somewhere private.

Unfortunately, once they _ did _ have a moment to themselves, he couldn’t hide anymore of how badly he took it to see Kiran die, suddenly explode, find out Kiran didn’t die or explode after all, and above all, that Kiran completely and utterly broke his trust all throughout. Even if they spoke in private, Alfonse’s voice was strong enough to hear in the next rooms over as to nearly miss the point. His voice drew its strength by just how raw his emotions still were of trying to process it all.

But by then, with Kiran’s thirst for vengeance quelled, he also softened in his demeanor once more, even if it also meant meekly taking in Alfonse’s outrage and quietly letting him vent.

“Y-you could’ve… I… if she hadn’t fell for it, o-or if… you… there were so many ways that could’ve all gone wrong...”

But there was only so long Alfonse could keep up with his anger, especially when he was more overwhelmed than specifically angry. Even as Kiran patiently gave him space and a chance to pour it all out (either to him or, in this case, _ at _ him), he was also still too tired from the earlier toil and stress even before Kiran’s stunt.

And then the doubt started setting in. Kiran did what he thought best and clearly, he succeeded. He also knew _ why _ Kiran did what he did. For all this, rather than take it all in for what it was, he spent a good chunk of the day bottling up resentments and then scolding Kiran into submission when he should’ve had at least _some_ shred of gratitude.

Now, he himself turned timid. He became meek and silent while backing himself away, thinking he went overboard from the way Kiran looked so timid all over again, just like when they first met.

He caused enough trouble, today. It would also go figure that he might’ve ruined everything between them when Lif proved just how well he could ruin the rest of the world, had he handled things on his own. He turned away with the intention to leave and give Kiran space when the summoner probably wouldn’t want to see him after what he said and did.

  
  


So it surprised him when he suddenly felt something weigh him down before he could get close enough to the door. Looking back, Kiran hugged him and kept him from leaving. He wasn’t hurt, but he had a stubborn look on his face.

He relented, just enough to lead them back to the bed before Alfonse’s legs would’ve given out. He was hesitant at first of where Kiran’s boundaries were after all he said and did, but the summoner wasn’t shy to stay close and personal to him, like always. Not a single word from earlier seemed to change his mind. After all, Kiran knew he deserved some scorn for what he did and how he did it, too. Alfonse gave in to spending much of the day keeping Kiran next to him.

  
  


Maybe… Lif had nothing to fear after all when he worried for what his Sharena and Kiran would’ve thought of him. Now Alfonse saw why for himself.


	10. The (probably) tragic (almost) death of General Kempf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He (nearly) died as he lived: by tempting fate via irritating magical ladies beyond repair. (A healer almost counts as one, right?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To the tune of Dummy! from Undertale (may or may not be haunted)
> 
> Thanks for reading! For post updates, questions, art and general random silliness in between, check me out at eriisaam.tumblr.com for more!

It was thanks to Kiran’s planning that Askr could have room to breathe… for a while. Unfortunately, even as Alfonse finally calmed enough of the whole ordeal, it was still painfully clear how much the stress had weighed on him, which Kiran’s act of faking his death did very little to help. It not only was urged by Sharena and Anna that he took time off of his duties to regain himself, but upon Alfonse’s _ incredibly _ strong insistence, Kiran was to join him as well.

So, as Alfonse tried to lay low with Kiran, the tasks were handed over to Sharena, who happily accepted the task.

  
  


“Ack-! _ Foul agents of chaos! I will not have you make a fool out of me twice!” _

Unfortunately, the latest task handed to her was a puzzling one, to say the least.

“I-is he ok…?”

“_ HAH! _ Pretending to feign concern to strike me while my back is turned! _ I will not be fooled by your puny act!” _

“...Um… Is that a no? I don’t believe Sakura or I have met you-”

_ “Back! BACK I SAY!” _

Sharena blinked as she watched the chaos unfold before her. Despite Genny and Sakura barely doing anything beyond existing, this new hero, General Kempf, already left much to be desired for what Anna tried to dig of him as a ‘hero’, but was already stirring up the heroes quite a bit leading up to now. Despite him trying to act fearless if not outright intimidating to the two healers, he tried far too hard to scare them off that it was painfully obvious that _ something _ about the two terrified him somehow. Rather than chase them off, the two were dumbfounded and concerned, in spite of his attitude.

_ “Boo~!” _

It also didn’t inspire much hope or confidence when Fae hardly did much to hide herself, yet somehow still frightened Kempf to immediately bolt quite a distance from the young manakete the moment he saw her hair.

“Is he normally supposed to be like that…?” Not that Sharena could control a hero either way, but she did miss how easily Alfonse could go on long tangents of the various heroes and worlds that probably could’ve explained oddities like Kempf.

“Not that I know of…?” Even Anna was dumbfounded. “I’ve heard reports of other heroes he seems to run away just as quickly whenever he saw Leif and Quan. Although… I suppose _ that _ much, I can understand.” Considering how calm someone like Reinhardt seemed of him and Leif being indifferent to one another, Kempf’s reaction left Anna and Sharena even more confused. But it did remind Sharena, at least, of an earlier thought.

“...Oh! Come to think of it, Kiran came by earlier to deliver a report. I almost completely forgot it~!”

“Kiran? _ Still _ reporting for duty?” Not that Anna minded Kiran being rather dutiful, but she was surprised that even with Alfonse’s request, he somehow found time to juggle between easing Alfonse yet assisting them.

“Yeah~! Look! He even wrote it in song, too~!” Although by that point, they were used to Kiran being just a little extra nowadays ever since the Order of Heroes clearly encouraged him to. 

“And yet, somehow, he found time to do this while helping Alfonse relax. Gotta give credit where credit’s due I guess.” Even it did make Anna wonder whether to encourage this work ethic, or try to get him to dial it down a little at risk of burning Kiran out, too. “Now then, let’s see it.”

“Right, right, sure.” Carefully, Sharena unfolded the note while shifting beside Anna to share it with her as both of them read the report.

* * *

Here is Kempf, head's up, he's quite miffed.

That fool nearly died as he lived:

Loud and proud, thinking he's the best,

putting people's nerves to the test.

"What’s all this about Reinhardt?"

'Strong and smart',

'Off the charts'.

As he was taking this to heart,

All his nerves fell apart.

He found all this flustering.

Stuttering...

Muttering...

While he was busy buffering,

_ I enjoyed his suffering. _

  
  


"**GAH!** SON OF A BITCH!"

He started yelling at the top of his lungs.

“You think you have won?!

_ Like hell I’ll be outdone!” _

So as his jealousies began anew,

even so soon,

In his debut.

And just like that, he dwelled on thoughts to stew,

like telling

Rein ‘fuck you’.

It was by chance that Reinhardt came into view.

Out the window,

Kempf’s restraint flew.

So to Reinhardt, he roared ”I'll surpass you!"

But with a thousand yard stare, he asked “Who are you..?”

Son of a bitch.

_ Son of a bitch. _

“Do you dare try and mock _ me?!” _ he hissed.

As Kempf scoffed,

Reinhardt coughed,

And then Reinhardt went and fucked right off.

Was he serious?

_ Was he serious? _

** _Was he trying to make him get pissed?_ **

General Kempf would not be dissed 

By the Friegian Dire Thunder’s Fist.

This bastard here.

_ This bastard here. _

** _This bastard is gonna know true fear._ **

Exploits unsung,

Ego stung,

Without consequence, Kempf ran his tongue.

How could he forget?

_ How could he forget? _

If he thinks Reinhardt could just plain forget

Well then Kempf will throw the gauntlet.

Reinhardt will rue the fucking day yet.

  
  


One by one,

They were set.

All of Kempf’s men

he ruled with threats.

Bit by bit,

traps were set.

He'd cubstomp Rein

Without breaking sweat.

(How soon will

Kempf get rekt’d?

Honestly, we

Were placing bets.)

Wait, what’s this?

Silhouettes?

Reinhardt is here!

And he got him! Yet...

Ethlyn’s here?

Her mind’s set.

And she brought friends

That posed a threat.

Has she met

Reinhardt yet?

So then why

Was she upset?

Looking back,

Their eyes met.

No longer Rein,

But Finn’s small pet.

He captured

this brunette.

And Kempf was quick

To fill with regret.

  
  


_ "LEIF! I'll protect you!" _

She started shouting at the top of her lungs.

"** _Let. Go. Of. My. Son."_ **

Some smart men knew to run.

She was far stronger than last he knew her,

and there's massive

birds behind her.

No matter all the traps he put down,

all his men,

took a beatdown.

All his careful plans fell under,

in his blunder,

his men suffered.

Just as he turned tail and fled,

He ran straight into Ethlyn, and felt dread.

  
  


As he was force-fed his ass,

He was quick to look up fast,

And instead of Leif he saw a busty new lady

and it had dawned on him of how he was put on blast.

See, this lady could shapeshift.

She had set up quite the rift.

There was quite the strong chance only she had picked on him,

and that almost everyone he met was just her.

Well _ shit. _

* * *

“Alfoooonse. Yooohooo~!”

Carefully, Alfonse opened the door. Completely stripped out of his uniform, he wore simpler clothes that gave away he hardly had the energy to strip out of his pajamas, and looking deeper in the room, Kiran was with him with clothes that barely fared better. He already opened the door with some level of dread at the thought something else might’ve happened in Askr as to cut this moment of peace short and force their hands to go back to duty sooner.

“Yes…? Is everything alright?” Even his voice was filled with some dread in spite of his efforts to hide it.

“Well, sorta. About your report, Kiran, um… Is there something about Kempf you really hate? Or maybe I’m missing a lot more context again…”

Alfonse blinked, and as both Askran siblings turned to focus on Kiran, he blinked just as slowly and cluelessly right back. Not only did he seemed confused about any report, but more than likely, he looked as if he didn’t know who Kempf even was.

“A report…?”

“Oh! Yeah. There was a new hero named Kempf. Kiran came by a moment ago to give me a full report on him.” Without a second thought, Sharena presented the report to Alfonse, who already felt some level of dread of what to expect of it.

“Are you sure it isn’t Loki...? Kiran was with me for the entire day.” As much as he was already glancing and skimming through the report, recognizing how unusually meanspirited the writing seemed, in spite of a much closer effort to mimic Kiran’s writing style, he pointed Kiran and his multitude of odd, unusual devices he smuggled out of his world and spread all over their room.

“Ah? That… could explain a few things, if it was…” Which left her feeling frustrated she let Loki slip past her again and cause grief to some of the other heroes… even if it _ was _ a hero like Kempf. “What were you up to here, anyways?”

“Ah, something Kiran shared that came from his world.” Despite Alfonse giving his attention to his sister, he was still skimming the note. “It was about small laguz and trying to move them into little homes. Kiran thought it could help me relax more.”

Looking at how quickly Alfonse relaxed from the sharp dread he showed a moment ago before Sharena’s briefing, she softened in seeing he already did seem to be slightly less uptight compared to usual. It left her curious too of the thought of the type of ‘laguz’ Kiran was trying to share, too, to a point of distracting her just as easily over them, especially with how happily Kiran shared the details with her, too.


	11. Confidence Falls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alfonse is a unique hero Kiran can only do so much to build up. Lif, however, has nowhere near the same restrictions he does. Surely, it’s obvious who Kiran would’ve loved more after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To the tune of Dusk Falls from Fire Emblem Fates 
> 
> Thanks for reading! For post updates, questions, art and general random silliness in between, check me out at eriisaam.tumblr.com for more!

Thankfully, with some rest, Alfonse had enough time to regain his nerves and thoughts to resume his duties once more. It was also enough for him to relax and trust Kiran would be fine, whether or not he was right there by his side.

But this resolve took very little time to be tested, particularly when Kiran finally developed the ability to reach Lif.

He felt even more discouraged when Kiran did, indeed, make it his new mission to summon Lif as well.

The feeling didn’t quite come all at once. 

Initially, he felt neutral of the thought of Kiran reaching out to Lif, much like any other hero Kiran suddenly resonated with enough to try to summon with Breidablik. But then the realization hit once more that this was a version of him who lost everything. It was a version of him who grew stronger under the crushing weight of his losses and failures.

And perhaps, more glaringly, this was a version of him Kiran could’ve easily built up to become far better and stronger than he could ever be.

He tried not to let such thoughts affect him, but it was showing enough cracks in his demeanor to give Anna and Sharena pause, until eventually, Kiran took charge in leading him away to somewhere private to spend time just between the two of them. It was not the only instance, but it was rare enough for Anna and Sharena to worry.

When the two disappeared, Sharena was anxiously pacing around. When they reappeared, and she saw the way Alfonse’s cheeks were flushed and his eyes were reddened, and she immediately feared the worst. It took Anna grabbing her by the shoulder and stopping her long enough to get her to take a closer look at Alfonse as he and Kiran moved on ahead. He cried, but watching them long enough, he laughed to something Kiran whispered too softly in his ear to hear, painting a new picture of what must’ve happened to the two behind closed doors.

Then she saw the way Alfonse seemed nervous and fidgety. She knew it was how he’d get when he had too much weighing on his mind than he could handle, and her worries spiked when he seemed to worsen in his restless habits the closer the two moved toward the direction of the summoning altar. Yet, even without Anna to hold her back this time, she saw the way Kiran brushed his arm against Alfonse’s, then seemed determined to hold his hand as the two went on ahead. It was just enough for Alfonse to relent in trying just a little more to calm his nerves, and both of them left side by side with their heads held high.

It was just enough for Sharena to sneak into their room she saw them leave from, only to notice there was a wall of various notes arranged in a sequence all over a hanging board. Some of the notes were Kiran’s writing, and some were Alfonse. Initially, Kiran seemed to have been writing mostly out of fun and to vent, but it surprised and charmed Sharena to see Alfonse shift in his tones over time as well.

* * *

Here lies

a new kingdom set in the sky,

a new land where we live

with our luck, as we're all 'ride-or-die'.

Heroes drawn

from all corners and edges of dawn,

watching our pity scores 

rise high, and then watch them break. Why?

Rings of red orbs stand there taunting at me!

(Surely that would make you glad)

With orbs that I gathered, bought and free!

(That sounds extreme, just a tad...)

Perhaps Lif would come home to my plea, surely,

but alas, it was Byleth times three...

Goal unmet,

a summoner won't give up yet,

even if it'll take some time,

pre-paid with blood and sweat.

Party set,

and with stamina points offset,

I will do all I must to get orbs,

even things I'll regret. Yet...

For all of the HP they have bled,

(Summoner please, just calm down...)

and all of the tears to be shed,

(You'll run yourself to the ground...)

they'll live to regret what's ahead, instead,

(Why are you so tightly-wound?)

as they're all chased down until they're all dead!

_ Summoner, I have one slight request, _

_ and I urgently feel this needs to be stressed. _

_ It's imperative that you need to get rest, _

_ to say nothing of your bank, I digress. _

_ Would you kindly, listen to my request, _

_ then I wouldn't need to be so obsessed. _

_ Please go get rest. _

_ Go ease your stress.  _

_ This goal is neither a rush nor a test. _

Oh Alfonse, though your point is well met,

I won't promise much, only ask you don't fret.

And I promise you, that I won't break a sweat,

and especially, as the orbs pile on yet.

This stuff, I don't break any sweat,

and it's totes not something that I regret.

My goal is clear,

quota is near,

risky as this is, it'll all soon become clear.

(Kiran, please, be at ease, hear my pleas, with all these...)

Packs paid,

climb Aether tier raids,

abyssal units carefully swayed,

Gods carefully picked and prayed,

nerves are frayed.

New Forging Bonds made (Don't go in debt! How can't I fret?! Les you forget...)

Tempest Trials done, left to fade (Did you rest yet? Breaking a sweat, over a bet...)

quests done in spades (You haven't done much to prove that you've listened yet!)

Surtr killed by maids ( _ Still  _ on these quests? You're getting stressed. Who would've guessed...)

warding off Thorr, with aid (Don't get depressed, over her test. I must confess,)

tap dance arcade (worried as I am, I'll concede you did your best.)

End of all! (Please, just rest.)

Bet it all! (Fine, I guess...)

Here my call! (Do your best.)

Here lies

where all my hopes live and die.

And though someone may ask and pry,

I'm stubborn-dumb, that's why.

Heroes drawn,

from all corners and edges of dawn,

watching our pity scores 

rise high, and then watch them break. Why?

Rings of red orbs stand there taunting at me!

(There's some good luck to be had...)

With orbs that I gathered, bought and free!

(That's still extreme, just a tad...)

Perhaps Lif would come home to my plea, surely,

So after all those orbs, which hero will it be...?

* * *

It was him. He was truly back.

Specifically, Lif had been back for a while, but understandably took his time to make himself known in combination of having mixed feelings still toward his position, and Kiran’s and Alfonse’s concerns of overwhelming him.

Seeing him directly, Sharena didn’t hesitate one bit to consider Lif as her brother much like Alfonse, and as much as the Alfonse of the present still seemed to be visibly nervous and tense, he relented to Sharena trying her best to make peace now that Lif was back with them.

“Maybe there’s something I should do for Alfonse, too….” Even if maybe it wasn’t to the extremes Sharena feared, she still worried of how well Alfonse was reacting to Lif, and whether or not she was doing enough to support him and Lif from now on if he was so easily rattled earlier.

So she grew determined. She gathered up gifts from the chocolates she knew he’d like, to his favorite kind of flowers to gather into a bouquet. She easily found him and immediately took notice of the way Alfonse and Kiran still held hands while both simultaneously were watching something.

She didn’t quite expect that ‘something’ to be Lif. She also didn’t expect to see the two watching Lif interact with Bruno, especially in such a calm, almost happy way between the two.


End file.
